Making a difference in the world is what moms do, and we Stay-at-Home Moms do it as our full time job! Our daily work is a service project. The time we have with our children helps us teach them as well. This service project for kids is a prime example.
How are we making a difference?
We shape minds, teach values, mold character, and lead by example every day of our lives from dawn to dusk…and even in the middle of the night. Through our care for our families (as I have said again and again), we are showing our children that caring for others is a need, is important, and can be our life’s work.
There are many blogs around whose sole mission it is to teach families how to serve with their kids. Whether through service projects for kids, visitation at a nursing home, or simply baking treats for the neighbors, our families can give to others. This social studies and service project teaches children to take care of the earth and their community.
Service Project for Kids
I will say, first and foremost, you are giving back to the world by taking responsibility for the full time care of your children!
Right now with twin infants in the house, I am limited to when and how my family can help others. We still can, but I certainly can not log a bunch of hours serving at a shelter when I have two nursing infants and children that are too young to go along with me. My time is needed at home, full time.
How can we stay-at-home moms try to serve with our children?
Simple Service Project for Kids to Do
We recently did a little service project that is well known-garbage pickup in the neighborhood. This service project for kids is a great lesson for Earth Day or any day. Add in some extra Earth Day fun like these earth day puns and jokes to chat about as you walk your neighborhood.
I wanted to involve my children in bettering their community in a way that was safe and age-appropriate for them.
So, my husband and I loaded the babies into the stroller. We equipped our older two children with garbage bags. We spent a sunny day doing a service project for kids. Our mission was to clean up trash in our small neighborhood.
My main goal as a mom is not to raise my children to be a doctor or a teacher. I want to raise them to know that they can give to someone else. They can make a difference in the world. No task is too small to matter-even if no one else notices. We can teach kids to care for the earth with an Earth Day craft and getting out in their neighborhood to help clean it up!
(Kind of how we moms feel when we do laundry, or grocery shop. No one really notices that they have clean clothes in the drawer or food in the pantry. They certainly notice when it is not there!)
My 3 year old and 6 year old really got into the task of garbage pick up. My husband and I stayed close to make sure they did not handle anything that could be a serious hazard.
Tips for Trash Pickup Service Project for Kids
If you are squeamish about this little project, you can have your children wear a latex or vinyl glove. If you do not have those, kids can slip their hand into a plastic zip top bag and use that as a glove. This way you don’t have to worry when they pick up any items that are a little too dirty.
We did not have any issues. I was amazed that after only 30 minutes of walking around we filled three small plastic bags and partially filled a fourth one!
That was only in 1/3 of our neighborhood!
This service project for kids taught my children how dirty it is to toss trash in the street. It taught them that someone has to clean it up or we would live in a dirty place.
I plan on doing trash pickups like this service project for kids on a regular basis.
What service project for kids have you tried with your child?
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hi there, i think what you've tried to teach your children are wonderful.. your posts are trully inspiring.. i am a working mom of a 4 year old, and i really admire how you can handle 4 children and still manage to post amazing ideas in your blog.. i am surely going to try to use some of your ideas to my child.. thank you so much for sharing.. warmest regards from Indonesia ^____^
Was the comment that initially ruffled your feathers, meant to ruffle? I admit I would be taken back my feathers ruffled too! Or was it some type of advertising thing? what are you doing to change the world…. here's our ideas, act now! (just curious)
It's funny you posted this because we have a busy body neighbor who is part of our towns keep the city beautiful group, and she knit picks at every little thing yet I've never seen her do any actual acts in which help out the community other than her yard. She even told me I was a bad example to my boys, (this was over a parking issue) yet my boys participate monthly in park cleanups, etc Sorry got to ranting!
Love your posts as always!
Good question! I am not really sure, and I took it with a grain of salt after my initial surprise at such a deep, and random, question from someone I did not know personally. There was no info about selling something or joining some program, but it would have made more sense if they had included something like that! Ha ha! That is too bad about your neighbor. It is funny how some of the most critical people can often be some of the most self-centered. It is awesome that you have your boys out there taking care of their environment. Sounds like a "good mom" moment to me! 🙂 Thanks for the comment and sharing.